Centrifugal cleaner



July 24, 1928.

M. P. HOLMES CENTRIFUGAL CLEANER Filed Oct. 19 1921 Patented July 24, 1928.

v UNITED STATES mourns r.

nomvins, or 'CLAREMONT, new HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR rosutnivniv MACHINERY COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS cnN'rRinUGAL CLEANER.

Application filed 0etober19, 1921. Serial No. 508,793.

My invention relates to centrifugal cleaners. 7

It has for its object to provide an improved centrifugal cleaner, and more es pecially to provide an improved and simplified centrifugal coal cleaner of compactform and great potential capacity which is'adapted to clean sized coal while dry with such accuracy and speed as materially to reduce the cost of the cleaning operation. These and other objects andadvantages of my invention will, however, hereinafter more fully appear. a

In the accompanying drawings I have shown for purposes of illustration one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings Fig. 1 is a central vertical sect onal view of this form of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a partialtransverse section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. V In this illustrative construction I have shown an improved refuse discharging means land an improved cooperating coal delivering means 2, one movable relative to the other and adapted to receive coal to be cleaned from a suitable source of supply, herein a hopper 3 removably carried on the top of the member 1, and, after cleaning the coal in an improved manner, deliver the refuse separated therefrom to a suitable point, herein a chute 4:, and the clean coal to another point, hereinto a discharge passage ter is rotated by suitable power connections hereinafter described and herein located beneath the member 1. y In my improved construction it will be noted that the member 1 iscylindrical and stationary, the same being carried upon a suitable support 6, and that within this member '1 is carried the rotary member 2 which is herein suitably attached as by a key 7 to a coaxially disposed upright shaft 8 which in turn has a .reduced portion 9 on its lower end journaled in suitable adjustable thrust bearings 10 on an upstanding support, herein a casing 11, carried on the support 6, the member 2 preferably being hollow and provided with a hub 12 which is seated on thebearings l0and in a corresponding hub 13 carried by the casing 11.

As shown,

5 beneath the member 2, when the latthe upper end of the shaft'8 is also journaled in suitable'roller bearings 14 carried in the bottom of the hopper 3, a sleeve 15 preferably being provided between the bearings and a reduced portion 16 on the upper end of the shaft, and the 1nembers2 and 3 preferably being correspondingly flanged andgrooved as illustrated at 17 to prevent the entry of dirt into the bearings.

In my improved construction, it will be notedthat the member 2 carries projections 18 on its upper. end which move through passages 19 in the'bottom of the hopper 3 and act to feed the material therein to chutes 20 formed by the hopper and cooperating surfaces on the members 18 ai1df2, the.latter being provided with surfaces 21 and 22 which cooperate witha surface 23 on the.

hopper to provide a free passage for material beyond a flange 24:;01 1 the bottom of the hopper andonto a ring-like member-or annular plate 25 preferably formed integral with the member 2. Herein, the material is delivered to the member 25 at apoint sub- 7' stantially midway between the edges thereof, and the member 25 herein has a downwardly and inwardly inclined material receiving surface adapted to receive the delivered material and through the rotation of the member 2 discharge the heavier material, such as slate or the like, outwardly over its upper edge through a lateral and then downwardly extending outlet or chute 26 on the stationary member 1, while the coal, having less weight, slides inwardly, down the inclinedfaceof the member 25 and over its inner edge intoafnother outlet or chute 27. As shown, this chute 27 is preferably slightly enlarged and rounded at its mouth as at and in turn delivers the partially cleaned material to a plate 29, similar to the plate 25, from which in. turn the material passes to a chute 30, similar to the chute 26, and a chute 31, similar to'the chute 27, while the chute 31 in turn delivers to a plate 32, similar to the plate 25, from which the refuse material is delivered to a chute 33, similar to the chute 2 6, and the clean coal to a chute 34, similar to the chute 27, the refuse chutes 26, 30 and 33 delivering onto the refuse discharge chute 4, while all of the clean coal discharge chutesB l deliver to the discharge passage 5, herein through. an intermediate chamber 35 beneath the member 2 and above the casing 11.

My improved cleansing mechanism may obviously be driven in various ways, but-the same is preferably driven through improved and simplified variable speed mechanism housed in thecasing 11. In the present conway or spline ll on that shaft by'n' eans'o'f' a suitable shipper or adjusting member 42' to vary the speed of rotation ofthe member 2 as desired. As shown herein, the shaft is also journaled in suitable bearings 43 on opposite sides of the casing 11 and extends through the passage 5, the shaft also being journaled in a suitable hearing as in the wall of the member 2 and at a point external of the member 2, herein being prd videdwith aworingear 45 driven by a suitable worm 46 from a suitable source of power 47' which in a preferred form of my invention comprises'an electric motor mountedon a bracket a8 integrally united with the member 1 and beneath'the upper protruding end of the member 4. v 1

In the operation of my j improved construction, the coal tobe cleaned, after screening to correct size, is delivered to the hopper 3, whereupon as the member Qjis rotated at the.p'roper speed to give the desired centrifugal'action, the speedherein being variable by adjusting t'he roller 39' relative to the disk 36, the projecting members 18 on the upper end of the member 2 cause the sized coal to be fed through the openings 19 in the bottom of thehopper 3 and into the chute 20 from which the material passes onto the annular plate 25, the refuse, such as slate or the like, being heavier than the coal, taking the outermost position thereon and accordingly being discharged by the plate through the chute 26 into the refuse discharge 4, while the coal, beinglightentakes an inner position on the member 25' and :through gravity passes intojthe' chute 27 and soon through the machine, theis'uccessive cleaning stages similarly removing any slate or the like which may have been caught in the mass of partially cleaned coaland all the refuse being delivered to the member 4 while all the clean coal is delivered to the passage 5.

As a result of my' improvement, it will be observed that it is possible to eliminate the improved cleaner providing a satisfactory means for dry-cleaning the coal at amaterially reduced cost. At the same time, it will be observed that my improved construction is exceedingly compact and not only has a large capacity but is capable of being made for any capacity or'coal size and operated with a minimum of expense for power. At-

-machiii'e be'ingltheoin'clined surfaces of the members 25, 29 and 32. It shouldalso'be noted th a tif for any reason :it is-desired to obtain access to the interior of the mecha-, nism, bysimply removing the: hopper 3 access may-be had to the upper end ofthe member 2 including the. bearings, while by simply removing the hopper-3 and by re-v leasingthe disk86 the whole member 2 may bewi'thdrawn ifdesired I s y While I have in this application specifically describ'ed-one embodiment which. my invention may 'assume in practice, itwill be understood that this formfof the same is shown 'forpurposes of illustration and that the-invention n'iay be modified and embodied invarious other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope ofthe appended claims. i

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent iszi x 1.- In a cleaning mechanism, a cleaning member rotating on avertical axis having an inclined initial receivingsur'face on :its

periphery adapted: to deliver material ex-,

ternally and internally, means for directly delivering -material between the edges thereof gravity feed, means for collecting mater1al'exte'rnally discharged therefrom and means for receiving material sliding inward ly thereon. 1 g 2.1In a cleaning mechanism, a cleaning member rotating on a vertical-taxis comprising a series of superimposed inclined receivings'urfaces adapted to deliver material externally and "internally, and means for successively delivering thereto material to be cleaned including gravity feed'delivering means dnectl-y delivering material at apoint ing meanslinitially delivering-all material by gravity at a each surface. necessity for washing coal to clean it, my

point between the edges of cleaning member having an inclined cleanv ing surface Quits-periphery from the exterf'n al periphery ofwhich heavymaterial is discharged centri'fugally and over the internal periphery of which lighter material slides 'by gravity-"toward"the axis of: said rotating member, and a stationary member Ill) enclosing said rotary member and having means for delivering material thereto and receiving refuse therefrom.

5. In a coal cleaning mechanism, a rotary cleaning member having a plurality of annular superimposed communicating inclined surfaces sloping toward the axis thereof, and a stationary casing in which said member rotates including a hopper communicating with the upper inclined surface and having discharge passages adjacent the upper edge of each surface.

6. In a coal cleaning mechanism, a rotary cleaning member .having a plurality of'annular superimposed communicating inclined surfaces sloping toward the axis thereof, and a stationary casing in which said menr. ber rotates including a hopper communicating with the upper inclined surface and having discharge passages adjacent the upper edge of each surface, said rotary member being accessible upon removal of said hopper.

7. In a coal cleaning mechanism, a rotary cleaning member having a plurality of annular superimposed communicating inclined surfaces sloping toward the axis thereof, a stationary casing in which said member rotates including ahopper communicating with the upper inclined surface and having discharge passages adjacent the upper edge of each surface, a refuse receiving means receiving the discharge from all ofsaid discharge passages, and a separate clean material receiving means receiving the discharge from all of said inclined surfaces.

8. In a coal cleaning mechanism, a rotary cleaning member having a plurality of annular superimposed communicating inclined surfaces sloping toward the axis thereof, a stationary casing in which said member ro tates including a hopper communicating with the upper inclined surface and having discharge passages adjacent the upper edge of each surface, arefuse receiving means receiving the discharge from all of said discharge passages, and a separate receiving means receiving the discharge from all of said inclined surfaces, said last mentioned means including an annularly disposed passage beneath the lower surface.

9. In a coal cleaning mechanism, a rotary discharge passages adjacent the upper edge of each surface, a refuse receiving means receiving the discharge from all of sand dlscharge passages, a separate receiving means receiving the discharge from all of said inclined surfaces, said last mentioned means including an annularly disposed passage beneath the lowermost surface, and rotating means for said rotary member disposed beneath the same and within said annular discharge passage.

10. In a cleaning mechanism, a cylindrical stationary housing member having discharge passages mits periphery and a hopper above the axis thereof, a rotary cleaning member journaled in said housing member and having inwardly inclined communicating cleaning surfaces receiving material from said hopper and delivering heavy material to said discharge and lighter material toward the axis of said rotating member, and means disposed coaxially with said'rotating member and within said stationary member for varying the speed of rotation of the former member as desired, said means including a housing between said mechanism and the clean material delivered from said inclined surfaces.

11. In a cleaning mechanism, a cylindrical stationary housing member having superimposed discharge passages in its periphery and a hopper above its axis, a rotary cleaning member journaled in said housing memher and having a series of communicating superimposed inwardly inclined cleaning surfaces receiving material from said hopper and delivering heavy material to said discharge passages and lighter material toward the axis of said rotating member, and enclosed means disposed coaxially with said rotating member and within said stationary member for rotating the former member at different speeds.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

MORRIS P. HOLMES. 

